A video on the internet shows a tornado being blown apart. Is this possible? In a theoretical world without danger to lives or property, could you do that?
The Tornado Hits the Power Plant
Tennessee witnessed a tragic outbreak of tornadoes last weekend that left six people dead and over 80 injured. After these deadly storms, a video emerged showing one of the tornadoes striking a power plant, seemingly disrupting the tornado’s path.
Video Explanation
In the original video, the condensation funnel (what you visually recognize as a tornado) appears to disappear for just a moment. This sparked some interesting discussions on various social media platforms. Can you really blow apart a tornado? We can confirm that the viral video showing a fireball in the sky during the devastating and catastrophic tornadoes in Middle Tennessee last weekend was actually the electrical equipment of Nashville Electric at our northern station. Check out footage from our security cameras.
Theoretical Explanation
In a theoretical world without danger to lives or property, could you do that? I don’t think so. Famous storm chaser Reed Timmer tweeted over the weekend that “the explosion significantly disrupts the thermal transitions within the vortex and leads to a blowing apart of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.”
Clausius-Clapeyron Equation
The Clausius-Clapeyron equation relates the saturation pressure of vapor to heat. What is the saturation pressure of vapor? Simply put, it is the vapor pressure of water in the air. But at a certain temperature, there is a maximum amount of moisture that the air can hold. This will give you the saturation pressure of vapor. Using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation, we can determine that as the temperature increases, the saturation pressure of vapor in the air increases exponentially. In other words, warm air can hold much more moisture than cold air, and the relationship between them is exponential.
Effect of the Explosion on the Tornado
What does all this mean? Theoretically (very theoretically), the heat released from an explosion inside the tornado’s condensation funnel would lead to a significant increase in the saturation pressure of vapor, reducing the humidity in the surrounding vortex. You’re not adding more moisture to the equation, so all you’re doing is increasing the temperature and increasing the air’s capacity to hold water — exponentially. Overall, you’ve reduced the humidity, and because the air is no longer saturated, the condensation funnel (which you see when the air is saturated) visually disappears.
Effect of the Explosion on the Tornado
If the condensation funnel is the visual signal of the tornado and it disappears, then in the human mind, the tornado itself has vanished. So can you really blow apart a tornado? Not quite. Video footage from other angles suggests that the condensation funnel reappears a bit after the viral video ends, meaning that the tornado was visually obscured for only a brief moment and not destroyed. Were the winds distorted or just visually obscured? I’m not sure. Thunderstorms are large, and the forces that produce tornadoes are also significant. To truly destroy a tornado, you would probably have to go to the supercell thunderstorm that produces the tornado. This is something that could be theoretically achieved, but in reality, it’s virtually impossible.
Conclusion
While they are fun thought experiments, we should also remember that we are taking some liberties here to make predictions using the science we know. There may be another explanation for what is happening here, but the one suggested by Reed and others seems the most plausible to me. The larger point still stands: blowing apart a tornado is not a practical alternative to preparedness, strengthening structures, providing shelters, and awareness on stormy weather days.
This story first appeared on The Eyewall.
Source:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/wait-can-you-actually-blow-up-a-tornado/
Leave a Reply